CEO blog – 29 June 2026

BIO Convention | RQ Bio’s oversubscribed Series A | BIA Summer Party | Global expansion webinar | BIA BD vacancy

Dear colleagues,

It has been a productive and varied BIA week: a busy International BIO, a live pipeline of member conversations, another great financing story in RQ Bio, and final preparations for this week’s Summer Party. Also, some more good news on the use of health data, this time with our member company Jiva.ai.

The global funding market is still selective, but it is not shut. UK companies with sharp science, credible teams and a clear ask are finding partners and momentum: expanding beyond the UK to access markets and spread their capital risk.

Lessons from global biotech

The BIO Convention, in a relatively cool and breezy San Diego, was its usual high energy, high concentration gathering. As ever, it brought together the world’s biotech nations to share, partner, sell and promote. The BIA-DBT UK event included a cracking bar and terrace for over 400 members and guests. It was full of life and easy, worthwhile connections. We were pleased to welcome Health Minister Preet Kaur Gill, who spent three days with the UK team, including Steve Bates, Lawrence Tallon and Julian Beach of MHRA and Alex Churchill of NIHR.

Together, we flew the flag for the UK, highlighting the many positive (early stage) changes to regulation, clinical trials recruitment and the flow of funding. This included a UK Supersession, hosted by our partners at BIO, to showcase the UK’s progress against plan. Despite international recognition that funding is still tight and translation remains tough, there was a sense confidence is returning, and deals are now being made. The services companies at the UK pavilion reported a high footfall, and the partnering sessions were overflowing – it’s now all about the follow up.

RQ Bio series A raise: a milestone for UK biotech investment

RQ Bio’s oversubscribed $115 million (£85.5 million) Series A is another marker for the sector. The financing was led by Frazier Life Sciences, with participating from founding investor LifeArc Ventures, the investment arm of LifeArc.

It backs RQB01, a long-acting antibody programme designed to protect high-risk and immune-compromised patients from seasonal influenza with a single administration. This story is indicative of UK potential: deep science, translational focus, international capital and a route into clinical development. 

Sovereign AI applied by BIA member to today’s health data

Following our recent report on ethical industry uses of health data and the launch of HDRS, there has been further good news on the data front. Friday saw the announcement of a £6.7 million grant to Health Innovation Manchester to create the Greater Data Accelerator, which is run by Health Innovation Manchester and powered by our member Jiva.ai. This initiative will enable the use of existing, secured and governed health data with sovereign AI to enable faster medicines R&D and return of benefits to UK patients.

Summer Party: the sector at its sunniest

The BIA Summer Party returns this Thursday, 6pm–10pm, at Inner Temple Gardens. It remains one of the easiest and most useful evenings in the life sciences calendar. Over 400 people from across the sector, cocktails, canapés, garden games and, most importantly, the conversations that make this community work.

Founders meet investors, service providers find live leads, old collaborators pick up where they left off, and new ones get started. If you are coming, bring the right people, make the introductions and follow up. If (perhaps!) you cannot quite remember who it was you spoke to, we can always help you afterwards!

Going global, sensibly

In addition to our work at BIO, tomorrow we host Community Connects: Expanding overseas for biotech growth. It is exactly the sort of practical session members need to navigate what can be choppy and unknown waters. Biotech is a global game, with tens of thousands of partnering meetings and every serious nation selling its strengths. As proved last week at BIO, UK companies are doing the same with success. We are here to help share best practise.

Overseas expansion is not a slogan; it is regulatory and financial homework, investor fit, board bandwidth, IP confidence and the right local partner. The best companies are not asking “which market next?” in the abstract; they are asking where the asset, service, evidence package and commercial route match. This webinar is here to help members serve the world from the UK.

Growing the BIA team

Finally, we are recruiting a Membership and Business Development Manager, with applications open until 20 July. This is frontline sector-building role: helping us retain and grow our 600+ member base. The ideal candidate will spot the companies who should be in the room, strengthen our business solutions programme and make sure members get value from BIA communities, events and international activity. If you know someone commercially sharp, organised and interested in the future of UK life sciences, send them our way.

Wishing you a productive week. Onwards…